A consortium of Scottish children’s organisations are today (Monday, March 1) calling on the Scottish Government to put children’s interests at the heart of alcohol policy.
The NSPCC’s ChildLine service in Scotland along with seven organisations – Children 1ST, Aberlour, YouthLink Scotland, Barnardo’s Scotland, Action for Children, Quarriers and Parenting across Scotland – have submitted a joint statement to the Scottish Government in support of policies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption, including minimum pricing on alcohol. Children 1ST delivers the ChildLine service in Scotland on behalf of the NSPCC (1).
The organisations have warned that harmful parental drinking has deeply negative effects on children including emotional stress, abuse and neglect.
They are calling on the Scottish Government to implement measures to combat Scotland’s harmful relationship with alcohol and reduce overall consumption in the country.
The call comes following joint research by ChildLine in Scotland and Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) which found that the number of Scottish children talking to the service about harmful parental drinking over a ten year period was higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK (2).
The majority of children who talk to ChildLine in Scotland about harmful parental drinking have called the helpline to talk about physical abuse or family relationship problems and often describe a range of violence and conflict in the home.
Elaine Chalmers, Head of ChildLine in Scotland, said: “We know from calls we get to ChildLine that harmful drinking by a parent or carer can dominate family relationships and affect children’s wellbeing in every aspect of their lives.“
She added: “Alcohol policy needs to implement measures that will protect children from harm. This includes minimum pricing which should be supported by other policies relating to support and education.
“We need to see better public awareness of the impact of harmful parental drinking on children and their families as well as greater awareness of what services are available to support people in this situation. Children tell us that family separation and loss can trigger an escalation in their parents drinking so we need to see more support for families who are affected by life events such as separation, bereavement and job loss.”
The Joint statement was given to the Health and Sport Committee ahead of the next evidence session on the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Bill on Wednesday.
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For further information please contact the communications team on 0207 650 6767 (in Glasgow) Out-of-hours 07760 272 021.
To see the full research conducted by ChildLine in Scotland and SHAPP visit: www.nspcc.org.uk